From ESPN.com
Analysis by Dru Henderson in SRM 435 (section 1)
In this article ESPN covers the groundbreaking news that the Toronto Raptors hired the well-known rapper Drake as an ambassador for the team. A celebrity in the NBA is no new trend. Jay-Z was a minority owner in the Nets (he recently sold his stock to Jason Kidd), Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are minority owners of the Sixers, and its no shock to catch Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee front row of a Lakers-Knicks game. However, this is the first time a celebrity has been such a vital part of an organization.
So what can Drake, who has no professional experience in the sport industry, bring to the Raptors? A lot actually. The rapper is one of the premier artists in the music industry today. He has a huge following, which is shown by his 13,000,000+ Twitter followers. He can attract an audience that otherwise would not attend a Raptors game. Fans of the musician may not be basketball fans, but if Drake endorses the team its safe to say they will follow close behind. As a native of Toronto, Drake’s fame has made him an icon in the territory. If he attends games regularly he can pull the hometown crowd out to the game by just his presence. He more than likely won’t be the only celebrity in the crowd. Fame has made the rapper an acquaintance of several A-List celebrities. This season you may flip the channel to TNT and catch Drake and Lil Wayne front row of a Raptors game. Celebrity appearances do wonders for the marketing department of an organization as fans get the chance to see celebrities in the same crowd as themselves.
The Raptors have struggled in recent years resulting in relatively poor fan attendance. In 2012 they ranked 17th in the league with an average attendance of 16,835. Through two games this season the organization has attracted an average of 19,312 fans, which is seventh best in the NBA. Has Drake’s presence already made an impact? It’s a little early to know that, but it will be interesting to follow throughout the season.
Drake’s role won’t be solely focused on fan attendance. The recent trend in the NBA is super stars joining forces during free agency. Drake has become close with several NBA stars including LeBron James. He holds the potential to open up opportunities for stars to team up in Toronto through his networking skills, and his ability to attract the athletes simply by his celebrity status.
Overall I think this was a brilliant move by the Toronto Raptors. Unless Drake has a social mishap that would represent the organization in a less than desirable way I don’t see where this situation could end badly for the Raptors.
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Analysis by Aaron Jason in SRM 435 (section 1)
The article summarizes the initiation of Drake as the new global ambassador of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. Drake, a rapper from Toronto, has been a long time sports fan and specifically a supporter of the Raptors. On top of the amount of brand recognition Drake will bring to the franchise with just his name, he brings much more to the table than that alone.
Drake possesses a sort of intellect that many rappers do not seem to possess; he shows true, relatable emotion in his songs and strikes true in the heart of many people through his role on Degrassi as an ex-basketball player with a debilitating gunshot injury. His intelligence will be on full display as an ambassador. He is not focused on creating personal name recognition, he more cares about the revival of a franchise who so desperately needs it. He has shown he understands the fundamentals of a successful ambassador. He connects well with people through his messages on a deeper level than most artists. Not only does he have many music fans, he has many fans of him as a person. From a marketing standpoint, this will be absolutely essential to his success. Fans of his music, fans of the Raptors, and people who simply support him as an individual will all unite into a new demographic of fanhood, similar to what Jay-Z constructed in Brooklyn with the Nets. Beyond the fan connection, Drake’s name will bring more non-basketball fans into attendance of what is going on with the Raptors. Whether people follow him on Twitter or read about him in the news, they will now have a steady stream of information relating to the Raptors show up on their feeds or web searches. Drake also brings a hip factor into the equation. While it is not good to completely stray from the traditional values of an NBA franchise, a little infusion of youth and excitement will only increase sales and awareness of the organization.
Another interesting factor in this equation is his upbringing in Toronto. It is more than ideal that a global representative of a team should be from that area. If anyone knows what the city yearns for most from a fan standpoint, it would be Drake who was submerged in the culture of Toronto and specifically the Raptors. His connection on a cultural level will do wonders for his ability to connect with the outside world and promote his product, the Toronto Raptors. Overall, it seems highly inevitable that Drake will bring large brand recognition and excitement with the Raptors as a new partner of his. Even if the team does not immediately win, the culture and understanding of the city Drake possesses will help him connect to a fan base better than many professional ambassadors could attempt to do. Between high class celebrities, the enticement of star free agents, and the money revenue generated from his name, Drake is bringing a potential storm of success through the city of Toronto and he has the real possibility to turn this project into a serious success not only in the town but across the game of basketball in and beyond our country.
From CNN.com
Analysis by Kyle Linn in SRM 435 (section 2)
This article is pertaining to the fact that a group of Native Americans, the Oneida Nation, is uncomfortable with the Washington Redskins using “Redskins” as their mascot. Both sides bring up valid points as to why they deem it offensive and why it is a cultured history of the Redskins franchise. Supporters of the name change feel that now is the time to change the name because this year marks the 81st year of the franchise since their move from Boston in 1932. Others like Dan Snyder for instance said that, “he will NEVER change his team’s name, even if they lose an ongoing federal trademark lawsuit that would stop the NFL team from exclusively profiting from the Redskins name” (Todd, Steinhauser 2013).
The article states that two-thirds of Redskins fans in the D.C. area do not want the team to change their name. Although, eight out of ten said that they felt a name change would not matter to them. I value the two-thirds of Redskins fans who do not want the name change. My next question is then if the team name is changed, can you not as a fan wear clothing or other things to the stadium that say “Redskins” on it? I looked up the Oneida Native American Nation, and while the Oneida Native Americans make up about 45,000 of the population, there are only about 1000+ in the actual group from New York that is upset with the name. I greatly appreciate the fact that there is a group offended here, but the name is being used in greatness and jubilee as fans chant, “Hail to the Redskins!” at football games. This in terms of sales and merchandises makes up only a fraction of the entire Washington Redskins nation.
Promotionally is where I feel this is a big area of concern. Supporters of the name change could possibly boycott or continue to slander the Washington Redskin organization for its use of a “racial slur” to some. You could have protests in front of the stadium during game days and it makes for negative attention from the organizations point of view, especially in terms of sponsorships. Then, you have fans who have been fans all their lives and now suddenly, they have to call their team something different because we all now have to be politically correct in our society which hinders free speech and expression, in my opinion. Being a fan, I have never considered the name offensive and many of the Oneida Native Americans do not have a problem with Washington’s mascot. If you do change the name, you then have made a small group of people happy and now your fans can possibly become unhappy, possibly boycott games, and/or protest the name change, all of which again bring about negative publicity to the franchise. Why has it taken 80 years for there to be buzz about the name change now?Dan Snyder has an important decision to make. Either way, he is going to come out winning and losing. This pertains to our class and major because you have an ethical dilemma, a promotional/publicity crisis, and a managerial decision to make. If I were Snyder, I would not change the name (and no not because I am a fan). I think if you look at it from a promotional point of view, you don’t have to stop production and design of now and future Redskins merchandise and memorabilia, ask fans to not wear clothing that says “Redskins” on it, etc. Ethically it should be changed, without question. However, you are always going to have supporters and people who disagree and in this situation with a multi-billion dollar organization on the line, I would not risk upsetting the fan base that is the “lifeblood” of the Washington Redskins versus a group that in terms of geography makes up a small portion of the population. I do stand behind Mr. Snyder and his decision to not (at this point) change the name.
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Analysis by Steve Mashinski in SRM 435 (section 2)
"I want to say this to Redskins fans. No one blames you for having used a name that was always used as this team. They will only blame you if you continue to use it and if you use it will impunity," I think this was the perfect quote to be placed into the end of this article. It basically says you are either going to have to change your team name or you will have an ongoing battle with the ones you are offending and the media. One of the major problems is some of these Redskins fans have been supporting this organization for potentially 80 years, but the group it is offending is making it known that there is not another option other than to stop using a racial slur to gain revenue for an organization. From a promotions and marketing stand point if the Redskins happened to change their name it would open doors to ultimately give them a fresh start. The Redskins haven’t had a promising season for a while now so maybe a new look will give them that extra push to excite people and make them want to go out and buy the new gear or come to games to be a part of history. The organization would be looked at positively in the media’s eyes for respecting a group of individuals therefore could gain more supporters. Unfortunately, on the other side of the table you will have the long standing supporters of the redskins that will boycott the new name. This will lead to protests to get the Redskins name back and fans that are unwilling to support the new organization. This side of the tables major argument is that they are not putting the name redskins down in any way they are honoring the name and don’t support them for any other reason besides the fact that they are a good football team This topic directly relates to what we have covered in class especially the effect of ticket sales from this major decision. Personally I believe ticket sales will go down because a team being around for 80 years brings in tons of loyal supports and for most of them Washington Redskins football is all they know.
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